The present invention relates to a friction brake for a louvered structure having a plurality of slats pivotally interconnected between opposed stiles of a rectangular frame and wherein one or more of these friction brakes can be secured to the interconnected pivoting assembly of the louvers in one of the stiles.
Louvered structures including movable louvers all hingeable in unison is well known in the art. These louvers are usually opened and closed by a control bar which is attached to the horizontal edge of the louvers or by a control mechanism which is accessible on the louve stile as is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,251. By moving the control bar or a control knob in an up and down direction, the louvers are opened or closed or arrested at an intermediate position. These control bars are unsightly and add weight to a side edge of the louvers creating an imbalance and for this reason louver structures have departed from the use of such control bars.
Another method of retaining louvers at a desired angular position is to provide strong frictional resistance between the louver ends and the support frame. This is done by effectively clamping the frame tightly against the outside edges of the louvers. In certain louver constructions, and in particular, in vinyl constructions, it is neither desirable nor feasible to provide sufficient frictional resistance between the louver and the frame to hold the louvers at a set angular position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,735 teaches the use of a movable louver clamp which is constituted by an elongated vinyl pivot clamp extending the full length of the styles in a cavity region thereof and adjacent the holes which receive the pivot pins of the louvers. Accordingly, this pivot pin clamp applies a clamping force against each of the pins and again these louvers are interconnected and displaced to a desired angle by the use of a control bar. Because the louver pivot pin are made of plastic material they will become more slippery with wear and tear and eventually the clamp has no longer an effect on some or all of these louvers thereby defeating this clamping system. If one of the louvers becomes loose about their pivot pin it is necessary to disassemble the entire louver structure to remove the longitudinal pivot pin clamp and this is costly and time-consuming. This solution has not proved to be satisfactory.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a friction brake which substantially overcomes the abovementioned disadvantages of the prior art.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a friction brake which is simple, economical, easy to install and wherein one or more of these brakes can be installed in one or both vertical stiles of a louvered structure frame.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a friction brake which permits the louvers to be positioned at any desired angle without the use of a control bar and/or any positioning mechanism whereby the displacement of a single louver by the use of the fingers is sufficient to set a desired louver angle for all of the louvers that are interconnected together within one of the stiles.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a louvered structure having a plurality of slats pivotally interconnected between opposed styles of a rectangular frame. Each of the slats has a pivot rod projecting from opposed end walls thereof and extending into axially aligned holes formed in an inner face of the opposed stiles. A connector is secured to each of the pivot rods in one of the styles. The connector has a cylindrical sleeve secured about the pivot rod and at least one connector arm extends laterally from the cylindrical sleeve. The connector arm of the connector of each of the slats is interconnected to a longitudinal slat interconnecting member by a pivot connection secured to each connector arm whereby all of the slats pivot in unison about the pivot rods. A friction brake member is also provided and has a first and a second spaced apart aperture. The first aperture is dimensioned to receive a cylindrical sleeve of one of the connectors in close rotational fit therein. The second aperture is dimensioned for friction fit about a cylindrical sleeve of an adjacent connector to arrest the adjacent connector and its associated slat, and all other connectors and associated slats interconnected thereto by the longitudinal slat interconnecting member, at a desired slat angle by displacing any one of the slats to the said desired angle.